On Friday, we pointed out an item from Michael Hiestand of USA Today regarding the looming scheduling conflict between Super Bowl XLVIII and the 2014 Winter Olympic Games. We ended by floating the possibility that one of the two sports mega-entities could blink, avoiding an invasion of sports’ biggest two weeks of the year by its biggest day of any year.
After doing some additional sniffing around, we’ve concluded that, barring something extremely unforeseen, neither the NFL nor the International Olympic Committee will be standing down.
For starters, it won’t be known with certainty until perhaps October or November 2011 that Super Bowl XLVIII will be played on two days after the 2014 Winter Olympic Games open (on February 9) or on the middle Sunday of the Games (on February 16). That won’t give the IOC enough time to shift the launch of the Games so that no portion of the fortnight will be overshadowed by the Super Bowl.
For its part, the NFL almost definitely won’t be adjusting its calendar to accommodate the Olympics. It’s widely believed that, once the league adds two regular-season games, the season will still begin the weekend after Labor Day. To keep Super Bowl XLVIII on the first Sunday in February, the NFL would have to start its season in late August, when television viewership is as low as it gets. Then there’s Labor Day Weekend, when folks are getting one last extended shot at outdoor activities before hunkering down for seven months of staying indoors and watching the various offerings of the networks owned by NBC Universal.
So a conflict is a virtual certainty, and all the Olympics can do to minimize the damage is schedule fewer events for Super Sunday.
But it won’t simply be a one-day disruption. With the game to be played in the New York area, an unprecedented amount of media attention will be devoted to the Super Bowl in the days before the game. At a minimum, the largest market in the U.S. will be primarily if not exclusively focused on the Super Bowl, and the Olympics will occupy a place of attention somewhere beneath “afterthought” and above “they still do those?”
And how about the Pro Bowl? It’ll likely be played on February 9, putting it up against the first Sunday of the Games. What if the powers-that-be decide to tempt fate twice when it comes to outdoor February football, moving the Pro Bowl to the new Meadowlands Stadium for a dry run of football in what could be very cold and/or wet conditions?
Either way, the Olympics will suffer, simply because the Olympics won’t be able to do in 2014 what the Oscars and the Daytona 500 and the NBA All-Star Weekend will do as soon as 2013.
Flee.
ProBowl is one of those that will occupy a place of attention somewhere beneath “afterthought” and above “they still do those?”
The loss of media attention will be the biggest hit. That being said only a few winter Olympic sports get a lot of attention and usually only in the final medal rounds. It is only “compelling television” when Americans are involved. World Cup is a great example of that. Even most of the McDonalds commercials disappeared when we were eliminated.
The Superbowl only lasts a few hours, anyone who is actually into watching the Olympics can do both quite easily. Besides the Olympics are in Vancouver this year, so prime time for the events are going to be three hours behind the start of the Superbowl anyway. The Olympics would be foolish to reschedule their start over one day of heavily increased football coverage in the United States.
Okay people miss 3-4 hours of the Olympics to watch the Super Bowl. I fail to see how that’s really a big deal unless it coincides with a Team USA hockey gold medal game, which I really doubt.
Screw the Olympics. I haven’t given a rat’s ass about them since Sapporo back in `72.
Oh for dog, dog, dog, dog, dog!/Fletched
yeah, well…um…ahh….I don’t give a Rat’s ass…..everybody has cable with 200 channells these days…..It will all work out in the end. No need to get your boxers in a bunch over it,Florio…….you’ll still get to watch Men’s Figure skating…..I hear deep down that’s really your favorite sport.
NFL 1 – Olympics 0
The Olympics are a yawn anyway. Endless yapping by commentators about nothing showing off their limited knowledge of the event, puff-pieces about athletes, and then 90 seconds of the actual event.
For a change, put a camera on the event, STFU, and just show it in its entirety. I don’t need a five minute MTV quick-cut montage of all the Olympic bullshit set to annoying New Age, Emo, or Metal music.
Everyone who supports the 18 game season does so out of sheer greed.
The owners do so because they know they’ll be able to wring even more money out of the TV networks and fans.
A few delusional fans do so because they actually think their current season ticket package will apply if the league goes to 18 games. Their utter stupidity and short sighted greed should be apparent to everyone.
If you don’t like paying “full price” for preseason games, turn in your tickets! There is a waiting list in most NFL cities for season tickets! Give up your tickets to a real fan who will gladly pay! I’m proud to be a season ticket holder, but I fail to see why the NFL should alter their entire season structure and put more players at risk for injury to satisfy, the few greedy fans that b!tch and moan about paying for preseason tickets!
The NFL under Roger Goodell is becoming a very arrogant entity.
First the NFL broke its gentlemen’s agreement with MLB and scheduled a Sunday night game against the World Series and now they appear intent on scheduling the Super Bowl against the Winter Olympics.
The NFL is King of the Hill and can do as they will. No other sport even comes close…but there are some gray haired gentlemen on Capitol Hill in DC who may just be ready to put the NFL in its place and remove its Anti-Trust exception.
In the US it shouldn’t be an issue. the games will be on tape delay anyhow.
when its 6pm in NY its 2am the next day in russia.
NBC/ABC/FOX/CBS whoever has the olympic rights will simply show the events of the day in recap form like NBC always does.
1 hour block, 45 minutes of useless babbling, 15 minutes of events spliced together.
So it won’t be much of a lost.
Are you running out of things to write about Mike?
I know the preseason is boring.
what is thing called “olympics”?
To be honest, Mike, viewership in August is low because the networks made it that way. When I was yonger, there wasn’t any of this 22-24 episodes that you see today; it was more like 35-36. Heck, until recently, it took 100 episodes to get a syndication deal but now, it’s less than that for some hits that may not even be on for 3 years and they’re guessing that they’ll get it the 2 or more years it takes to hit 100+. Gilligan’s Island, which was only on for 3 years (even though it seemed like an eternity to me) racked up 98 episodes in that time. Heck, Batman, another show that I detested (loved the serious Batman, not the campy one) had 120 episodes in 3 years (Ok, they did pump it up in season two with a cliffhanger on one day of the week and the conclusion on the other). Let’s also not forget that you got more show for your back back then. An hour show would have 50 minutes of action and it gradually whittled its way down to 41-42 and the same goes for half hour shows.
Because the networks ceded the summer to reruns, cable started showing new episodes of new series and that’s lead to cable channels having new shows on for 12 months out of the year and while their viewership isn’t as good as it is in the fall, the drop off hasn’t been as dramatic and the networks have noticed and they’ve begun to put on some original fare. So, in a roundabout way to getting to my point, I think that if the NFL moves their games back a couple of weeks, the fans will adapt and they won’t have to worry. I can guarantee you that there are fans RIGHT NOW, that have been chomping at the bit for the past couple of weeks and can’t wait for the REAL games to start.
The later they push these games into winter the more the weather will play a factor in the games. Green Bay might have to rethink what they are doing on offense because of the chances the passing game will be limited because of weather. This gives advantages for dome teams who can try to plan for their offense year round.
These advantages already exists but cold weather games are great because they are unique. Increasing the chances of them might not be all that desirable. Too many scores of 10 to 6 in conference champion games will get old real quick.
My JV year in football we played 5 of 8 games in the rain. Fun the first 2, annoying after that. S#@$ weighs you down extra 20lbs.
16 team game season works. Health already plays in the playoffs and there will be more meaningless games. I don’t even know anyone who is for it.
What the freaken big deal?
Most diehard superbowl junkies that watch 20 hours of superbowl pregame don’t care about the Olympics.
Most Olympic diehards could careless about football.
And then there is a large number who will watch the superbowl, but not all the pregame crap, and will watch some but not all of the Olympics.
Fortunately this isn’t the 1960s with only three channels. Between Tivo and the 1000+ channels on cable all can be accommodated.
The Winter Olympics? You have to be kidding if you think the NFL might blink for any even in the Winter Olympics. If the US hockey team is in contention for a medal, that gets interesting. The rest of the stuff is pure filler.
mike, it might be important to mention WHERE the olympics are being played in this article, as well as the super bowl, don’t you think? not everyone who reads this blog is a sports nerd.
Florio is bitching because the Olympics are on NBC and they will obviously lose viewership that day/night.
Way to be a good lapdog Florio! LOL
Well then for one night the Olympics are going to be absolutely devastated in the ratings department. Let’s be honest, NO ONE IN AMERICA will choose the boring ass Olympics over the Super Bowl.
This is what dvr/tivo’s are for!
It also nice for skipping all the blah blah blah blah with the FF button =)
I might have an issue if this were the BCS Championship Game being lined up against one or more of the best winter finals, but this is the Super Bowl, which is almost nothing but a commercialfest, and the Olympics will probably just have some preliminary rounds during the 3-4hrs.
The olympics are 2 weeks long, if they lose one day so be it. One day wont kill the Olympics. I dont tune into the 23 hrs of pregame anyway, so if there is something on that interests me in the olympics, then I watch that till the SB starts. Hell I dont watch all of the SB anyway so it doesn’t matter all that much to me personally
Wow – you guys really think the Olympics give a flying poop about this??
Amazing.
You must be bored. This is such a non story/issue.
I don’t know about you but I wouldn’t miss the women’s figure skating long program for the Superbowl or any bowl. I’m also a big fan of Judy Garland, Liberace, Cafe Laate and Broadway musicals.
Hopefully T.O. takes up the Luge..
This actually could help the Olympics get some viewers in masses before and after the game.. the superbowl is 3 hours.. come on.. they are making it sound like the superbowl is a weekend thing.. gees
Anyone that posts to this site is going to give a shit about the Olympics compared to the Superbowl. Fact.
Like everyone else, my remote will be in constant motion
The Olympics?
They still have those?
re: # RyanT. says: August 29, 2010 1:04 PM
Everyone who supports the 18 game season does so out of sheer greed.
……… If you don’t like paying “full price” for preseason games, turn in your tickets! There is a waiting list in most NFL cities for season tickets! Give up your tickets to a real fan who will gladly pay! I’m proud to be a season ticket holder, but I fail to see why the NFL should alter their entire season structure and put more players at risk for injury to satisfy, the few greedy fans that b!tch and moan about paying for preseason tickets!
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Ryan, I guarantee that you are one of the couch potatoes who never steps foot in an NFL stadium. If you can’t afford to buy season tickets, you don’t have an oar in the water on the subject of the length of the season and preseason. The league doesn’t give a rat’s ass about opinions from you!
Just turn off your TV the last two games of the season and all will be well!
First. Have you been paying attention? Most NFL teams do not have waiting lists. Very few do. Most as of right now have tickets available for all 8 home games.
And yes, the season ticket package will essentially stay the same. Tickets will go up every yer, like the do most years. But it will initially drop as one game we buy because we have to will become a real game. So even if they charge me a few bucks more per game. It will total less then the $65-$120 we are payong for a garbage game now.
Next the Olympics has about 7000 events. 6993 appeal only to women. 6989 of them appeal to women who dont give a ratz rhumpass about football, even the NFL. Its very easy to use the Olympics to counter program to attract the non-NFL fan for that evening.
What might actually see a hit is the 9 hours of worthless NFL pre-game.